The University of Mississippi Athletics
GAME NOTES: Rebels Test Samford In WNIT First Round
3/18/2010 | Women's Basketball
Ole Miss (17-14, 7-9 SEC) vs. Samford (22-10, 14-6 SoCon)
Thursday 3.18.10 | 7:00 p.m. CT
Birmingham, Ala. | Pete Hanna Center (5,000)
MEDIA
Live Stats: OleMissSports.com
Live Radio: RebelVision (Gary Darby, play-by-play; Alliesha Easley, analyst)
REBELS FACE SAMFORD THURSDAY
The Ole Miss women's basketball team begins its quest for a WNIT championship Thursday night at 7 p.m. when the Rebels travel to Birmingham, Ala., to take on Samford from the Pete Hanna Center in the opening round of the postseason event. Ole Miss hasn't played since falling to top-seeded Tennessee in the second round of the SEC Tournament on March 5th. Despite the setback to the Lady Vols, the Rebels reached at least the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament for the seventh straight season.
REBELS AND BULLDOGS
Ole Miss and Samford will be meeting on the hardwood for the first time ever when the two teams tip-off Thursday night in Birmingham. The Bulldogs are the fourth opponent this season that will face the Rebels for the first time. Ole Miss is 3-0 thus far this season against first time opponents, as the Rebels have already defeated Centenary, Sam Houston State and Winston-Salem State.
OLE MISS AND THE SOCON
Ole Miss is 8-1 all-time against teams from the Southern Conference. The Rebels' lone loss to a Southern Conference foe came in the form of a 79-77 overtime setback at Chattanooga on Dec. 6, 2003. In the most recent meeting with a SoCon team, Ole Miss defeated Davidson 55-50 last season in the championship game of the Winthrop Hilton Garden Inn Classic.
Samford is 2-11 all-time against teams from the SEC. Both of the Bulldogs' wins over SEC teams have come against the Alabama Crimson Tide. Earlier this year, Samford lost 80-41 in a game at Mississippi State.
OLE MISS AND THE WNIT
Ole Miss will be making its fifth appearance in the WNIT and 22nd overall appearance in the postseason Thursday night against Samford. The Rebels are 2-4 all-time in the WNIT since first appearing in the postseason event in 1999. Last season, the Rebels defeated Murray State in the second round of the tournament in Oxford before falling on the road to eventual champion USF in the third round.
SCOUTING SAMFORD
Samford enters Thursday night's game coming off a 72-67 loss to Chattanooga March 8th in the Southern Conference Tournament championship game. The Bulldogs currently own a 22-10 record and went 14-6 in conference in their first season in the SoCon. Thursday's game marks the first-ever postseason berth for the Samford women's basketball program, which is in its 13th season.
Individually, Samford is led in scoring by junior guard Emily London, averaging 15.0 points per game. London ranks fifth in the nation in three-point field goal percentage, making 47.0 percent of her attempts. London also ranks third in the nation in free throw percentage, making 90.5 percent of her attempts from the line. Junior forward Savannah Hill leads the team in rebounding (5.4 rpg.) and assists (3.5 apg.). Hill also ranks second on the team in scoring with an average of 13.4 points per game. Senior guard Monica Maxwell ranks third on the team in scoring, averaging 10.3 points per game. Maxwell is also second on the team in rebounding with an average of 4.5 rebounds per game.
CLOSING IN ON 1,000
Ole Miss senior guard Shantell Black is closing in on becoming the 24th member of the Rebel 1,000-point club. Black enters Thursday's game with Samford with 967 career points and needs just 33 more to reach 1,000. She currently averages 9.4 points per game.
SHOOTING HISTORY
Ole Miss All-America candidate Bianca Thomas hit one three-pointer March 5th against Tennessee to up her season total to 95. She has already set the Ole Miss single season record, but is now tied for sixth all-time in SEC history. She needs one more to pass Carolina Williams of Vanderbilt for sixth all-time and three more to pass Jordan Jones of South Carolina for fifth all-time.
DOES SHE EVER MISS?
Rebel senior Bianca Thomas hit one three-pointer March 5th against Tennessee to up her career total to 221. She is now just 12 three-pointers shy of becoming the school's all-time leaders in three-pointers made. Becky Myatt is the current record holder with 232 treys from 1998-01.
MAKING HER MARK
Ole Miss senior guard Bianca Thomas has been one of the most prolific scorers in the nation this season and is making her way up the Rebel scoring charts in the process. Thomas has scored 1,489 points during her career at Ole Miss and currently ranks seventh on the school's all-time list. She is just two points shy of passing Cynthia Autry for sixth all-time. Autry scored 1,490 career points for the Rebels from 1985-89.
LONG RANGE RECORD
The Ole Miss women's basketball team hit two three-pointers March 5th against Tennessee, which continues to increase the Rebel's record setting total. Those two three-pointers upped the season total to 227, which is now 25 more treys than the previous school record of 203 set by the 1999-00 team. Ole Miss actually broke the previous single season record with six three-pointers Feb. 25 against Auburn on "Senior Night."
THOMAS TABBED ALL-SEC
Ole Miss All-America candidate Bianca Thomas was selected to the All-SEC first team by both the league's coaches and the Associated Press. Thomas led the SEC in scoring since the first game of the season and currently ranks ninth in the NCAA with 21.1 points per game. It mark the second straight year Thomas has earned a spot on the All-SEC first team. She become just the fifth player in school history to be named to the team twice. Ole Miss assistant coach Armintie Price is the only player in school history to be selected to the All-SEC first team three different times.
BIDDING FOR GREATNESS
Bianca Thomas is scoring 20.9 points per game at this point of the season. She is bidding to become just the third player in school history to average at least 20.0 points per game for an entire season. She would also become the first Rebel since Ole Miss All-American Jennifer Gillom poured in 23.2 points per game during the 1985-86 season. Sheila Sullivan joins Gillom as the only players in school history to average at least 20 points per game for a full season. Sullivan scored 20.7 points per game during the 1975-76 season.
FREE IS GOOD
Ole Miss All-America candidate Bianca Thomas made four free throws March 5th against Tennessee to up her season total to 129. With those four free throws, Thomas moved into fourth place on the Ole Miss single season list, passing former assistant coach Peggie Gillom. Gillom hit 128 free throws during the 1979-80 season. Thomas now needs two more free throws to move into third place and pass Eugenia Conner.
IN HER SIGHTS
Rebel senior forward Elizabeth Robertson hit four 3-pointers March 4th against South Carolina to up her season total to 72. She currently ranks third all-time at Ole Miss for the most three-pointers in a single season. She needs just two more three-pointers to move into second place all-time and pass the 73 that Bianca Thomas sunk last season as a junior.
